Winter resorts

Beauty comes from above: Anyone taking ski lessons in Adelboden will, with luck, meet the bestlooking ski instructor in Switzerland.

The village below the Eiger: Grindelwald is a winter playground set against an unparalleled icecapped mountain backdrop.

Perfect conditions: Gstaad Mountain Rides is the name of the winter sports region that extends from Zweisimmen all the way up to Glacier 3000 – the only glacier ski area in the Bernese Oberland.

Setting trends in freestyle - Haslital is into one style more than any other: freestyle. Passionately so, and for more than two decades.

Accorded UNESCO World Heritage status, fast and convenient to reach. Kandersteg is considered the northern Mecca in the Bernese Oberland. Offering expertly prepared cross-country skiing and winter walking trails, a curling hall, husky trekking and a ski jumping facility, it offers everything a northern heart- could ever yearn for. For avid skiers, there are two small but excellent skiing regions: Oeschinensee and Sunnbüel. An excursion into the neighbouring Kiental is also well worthwhile.

In the 19th century, no journey through Switzerland was complete without a trip to Lauterbrunnen: the famous Staubbach falls inspired Goethe to write his poem “Song of the Spirits over the Waters”. Now, every winter, the 72 waterfalls of this valley transform into icicles – and don’t sing so much as crack and crash!

Built on tradition: At the far end of the Simmental, in one of the most beautiful valley heads in the Alps, lies the resort of Lenk. The typical Simmental chalets, along with the local traditions – very much alive here – give the village an unmistakable charm.

A natural high: Take the Schilthorn cable car up to Mürren, and glide back to another age. The highest village in canton Bern to be inhabited year-round is a secret little world unto itself.

A much-loved classic: This car-free village at the foot of the Lauberhorn lies on a sunny sheltered terrace 400 m above Lauterbrunnen.